Making Nerikiri

I love sweets but I don’t particularly like really rich sweet things, because even if they taste amazing, I feel gross after. So, I’m always eating Japanese sweets which are much more on the subdued sweet side and not nearly as guilt inducing. Another plus is that you can make them without much equipment or a lot of waiting! I tried making Nerikiri for the first time and it turned out much cuter than I expected! You make the dough just by heating and mixing a little rice flour with water, sweet white bean paste, and a little liquid food colouring. The shaping begins by separating out your colours for the different parts of the Nerikiri you’re making. I separated my colours for two separate uchiwa (Japanese fan) nerikiris.

1. Gently knead your background colours separately until they feel soft and doughy (about 5-10 times). Take the colours you want to build your background with into your non-dominant hand and use the palm of your other hand to squish them together pushing into the side you want to blend into the other side.

2. Use your finger to blend the colours together evenly and flip it. Make a bowl shape to put your sweet bean paste in the middle of. Also, make sure your bean paste is refrigerator temperature otherwise it’ll get everywhere. Gently mold the sides up around the bean paste until you can cover it.

3. Squish the front gently onto a flat, damp, wooden surface to make a flat canvas.

4. Cover with a damp, clean kitchen cloth and push your thumb into the base to impress the towel wrinkles. I didn’t get great results…I think my towel was too thick.

5. Lastly, use a toothpick to make the fan lines and stick your decorative pieces on the surface.

Enjoy with some green tea!